Electrical street-indicator.



No. 645,377. Patented Mar. I3, I900.

G. W. STEVENSON. ELECTRICAL STREET INDICATOR.

(Application filed Dec. 7, 1898. Renewed Dec. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.)

I IIEH Noams PETERS co. Pno'rouma, WAsmNQTON w c Nrrn STATES GEORGE \V. STEVENSON, OF ORAMER'S HILL, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THEODORE LEAS, OF CAMDEN, NEXV JERSEY.

ELECTRICAL STREET-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 645,377, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed December '7, 1898. Renewed December 20, 1899. Serial No. 741,050- (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. STEVENSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cramers Hill, in the county of Camden, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electrical Street-Indicators, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention consists of an improved construction of street indicator by means of which streets or stations on a car can be readily indicated by an electric light, provision being made for locking the indicator in any desired position and for readily unlocking and turning said indicator according to requirements.

It further consists of a novel construction of interchangeable frames carrying the figures or devices indicative of the streets or stations and means for holding the same in position and for enabling the same to be readily interchanged according to requirements.

It further consists of novel details of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a street-indi-,

cator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 rep resents a vertical longitudinal section on an enlarged scale and taken on the line 00 a; of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 represents an end elevation taken from the left of Fig. 1.' Fig. 4 represents a fragmentary detail in perspective of a corner of the indicator-frame. Fig. 5 represents a sectional detail view of the springactuated plunger.

A designates hangers which have bearings in the lower portion thereof in which the trunnion B revolves, said trunnion projecting from the end frame 0 and containing the insulating-sleeves D, through which the conducting-rods E pass, which are in electrical connection with the sockets F, having lamps G seated therein. In the case of the righthand trunnion the sleeve D acts as the trunnion. Electricity is conducted to the lamp by the conductor H, which leads to the brush J, the electricity passing from the left-hand lamp by the conductor K to the opposite lamp, and thence to the contactstrip L and the conductor M, although it will of course be apparent that the course of the electricity can be reversed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

N designates pieces of suitable material, preferably wood, to which the end pieces 0 are secured in any suitable manner, said pieces being of polygonal shape and having the strips P common thereto, upon which the removable or interchangeable frames Q are supported, one end of each frame being inserted under the lip R, as seen at the right of Figs. 1 and 2, while the other end is held in place by the free end S of the spring-catch T, which is contained in the space U, as will be understood from the left hand of Fig. 2.

V designates a recess in one of the hangers A, in which is located a pin or plunger W, which is held normally in contact with the adjacent end frame 0 by the spring Y and is adapted to seat in one of the sockets X, said plunger being actuated from the exterior by means of the button or finger-piece Z and the stem A. The said sockets X consist of depressions or recesses in the central portion of the frame 0, Figs. 2, 3, and 5, arranged in circular order in the path of the plunger "W.

The frames Q are preferably rectangular in shape, and when in position rest upon the polygonal edges of the end piece N and the strips P, said frames being provided with bevel edges whereby they are held in juxtaposition, and are prevented from shifting by means of the plate B. In practice I insert in the frames an outer metallic opaque strip 0, having the street, sign, or device out or formed.

The operation is as follows: Electricity is conducted to the lamps by means of the wire H, brush J, and the conductors E and K, the current leaving the indicator through the brush L and wire M, wlierefrom it will be ap= parent that the interior of the indicator will be brilliantly illuminated under all conditions. The movable frames Q, containing the names or devices indicative of the streets or stations, can be readily interchanged or re placed by manipulating the spring S, and the indicator can be prevented from rotation by means of the spring-actuated plunger W, as will be understood from Fig. 5, and when it is desired to adjust or rotate the apparatus so as to indicate another street or station, it is only necessary to exert enough force on the indicator sufficiently to move the plunger W out of engagement with the adjacent seat or socket X, whereupon the indicator can be readily rotated to the desired extent.

It will be apparent that changes may be made by those skilled in the art which will come within the scope of my invention, and I therefore reserve to-myself the right to make all such changes as will come within the spirit thereof.

In practice I employ collars E of non-conducting material,at either end of the sign, the electricity being conducted from the rod E to the lamps by means of the wire F one end of which is held between the contiguous ends of rings G While its other end leads to the adjacent lamp. The said rings G are screwthreaded upon the rods E, so that the ends of the wires F can be clamped therebetween.

Especial attention is called to the feature of my invention whereby the current is always conducted to the lamps in whatever position the indicator may assume, and there is further no liability of sparking or arcing or of the lamps being temporarily extinguished, which frequently occurs in devices constructed in accordance with the prior art. Attention is also called to the fact that only a single wire K is needed within the indicator intermediate the lamps to serve as a conductor of electricity, whereby the construction is greatly cheapened.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a street-indicator, hangers upon which the indicator-casing is rotatably mounted, said casing being provided with end pieces having frames attached thereto, said frames being provided with outwardly-projecting insulated sleeves rotatably mounted in said hangers, rods passing through'and projecting beyond the ends of said sleeves and having lamps in electrical connection therewith, brushes mounted upon said hangers and bearing on the ends of said rods, a spring-actuated plunger suitably supported, and sockets in said end frames to receive said plunger.

2. In a street-indicator, hangers, a casing havingtrunnions of non-conducting material rotatably mounted upon said hangers, rods passing through said trunnions and connected with suitable conductors exterior thereto, electric lamps within said casing, clampingrings having screw-threaded connections with said rods within the casing, and conductors having one end secured between said clamping-rings and the other ends connected with said electric lamps.

GEORGE V. STEVENSON.

\Vitnesses:

WM. 0. WIEDERSHEIM, E. HAYWARD- FAIRBANKS. 

